Vietnam’s regulators have put on the table a schedule for issuing the first batch of crypto licenses in 2026. On the surface, it looks like another compliance “shoe” dropping in Southeast Asia—but if you compare it with FATF’s anti–money laundering framework and the EU’s MiCA preparations for reserve reviews, you can clearly see the real game plan behind it.
Previously, on-chain players and retail users in Vietnam mostly relied on P2P OTC or cross-border CEX channels for deposits and withdrawals. Funds often moved through grey card payment routes, which meant they were always at risk of accounts being frozen or assets sinking into an area where there’s no legal recourse. This time, the SSC has put compliance on display. In essence, for local institutions and the OTC merchants handling large-scale fund flows, it’s about using the cost of compliance to secure a compliance-friendly channel. Once licenses are issued, compliant platforms can connect with local banks’ clearing systems, allowing large funds to enter and exit compliantly. But the price is that they must fully complete KYC, keep transaction records, and expose all ledgers to tax and AML monitoring.
This is a necessary reconfiguration of bargaining chips as regulators face rampant illicit activity and capital flight. Referring to the FATF model means the Travel Rule will be directly linked to platforms. For platforms providing compliance-focused asset management and deposit/withdrawal services, the bar is raised significantly. The cost of obtaining a license will filter out the vast majority of small and mid-sized platforms, ultimately leading to a situation where a handful of top licensed platforms monopolize the fiat on/off-ramp channels.
Personally, I take a neutral-to-somewhat-cautious stance toward this kind of compliance. Compliance can indeed provide traditional institutions with legitimate entry channels and gives victims more asset-custody protection when they have been scammed and have nowhere to appeal. However, it will inevitably squeeze the survival space that originally belonged to the on-chain native ecosystem. When compliant platforms fully implement AML “penetration” and oversight, illicit activity and purely anonymous funds will only sink deeper into more decentralized protocols or into dark pools.
In the next two years, the key is not how many licenses are issued, but how far regulatory oversight extends—from enforcement—into DEXs and non-custodial wallets.
If the deposit/withdrawal end is completely blocked by compliant platforms, on-chain liquidity will be split into a compliant pool and a non-compliant pool. The compliant pool will absorb respectable institutional funds, while the non-compliant pool will continue to grow wildly underground.
For Web3 teams expanding across Southeast Asia, the countdown to the end of living off grey-zone loopholes has already started. Splitting business logic from fiat rails in advance is the only two-pronged choice left to avoid getting swept up in one fell swoop.
#越南拟2026年发首批加密牌照
Previously, on-chain players and retail users in Vietnam mostly relied on P2P OTC or cross-border CEX channels for deposits and withdrawals. Funds often moved through grey card payment routes, which meant they were always at risk of accounts being frozen or assets sinking into an area where there’s no legal recourse. This time, the SSC has put compliance on display. In essence, for local institutions and the OTC merchants handling large-scale fund flows, it’s about using the cost of compliance to secure a compliance-friendly channel. Once licenses are issued, compliant platforms can connect with local banks’ clearing systems, allowing large funds to enter and exit compliantly. But the price is that they must fully complete KYC, keep transaction records, and expose all ledgers to tax and AML monitoring.
This is a necessary reconfiguration of bargaining chips as regulators face rampant illicit activity and capital flight. Referring to the FATF model means the Travel Rule will be directly linked to platforms. For platforms providing compliance-focused asset management and deposit/withdrawal services, the bar is raised significantly. The cost of obtaining a license will filter out the vast majority of small and mid-sized platforms, ultimately leading to a situation where a handful of top licensed platforms monopolize the fiat on/off-ramp channels.
Personally, I take a neutral-to-somewhat-cautious stance toward this kind of compliance. Compliance can indeed provide traditional institutions with legitimate entry channels and gives victims more asset-custody protection when they have been scammed and have nowhere to appeal. However, it will inevitably squeeze the survival space that originally belonged to the on-chain native ecosystem. When compliant platforms fully implement AML “penetration” and oversight, illicit activity and purely anonymous funds will only sink deeper into more decentralized protocols or into dark pools.
In the next two years, the key is not how many licenses are issued, but how far regulatory oversight extends—from enforcement—into DEXs and non-custodial wallets.
If the deposit/withdrawal end is completely blocked by compliant platforms, on-chain liquidity will be split into a compliant pool and a non-compliant pool. The compliant pool will absorb respectable institutional funds, while the non-compliant pool will continue to grow wildly underground.
For Web3 teams expanding across Southeast Asia, the countdown to the end of living off grey-zone loopholes has already started. Splitting business logic from fiat rails in advance is the only two-pronged choice left to avoid getting swept up in one fell swoop.
#越南拟2026年发首批加密牌照
